Viva La Vida
Viva La Vida is a song by [[Coldplay. It is from their album Viva la Vida or Death and All of His Friends. The song was released on 7 May 2008 as the album's second single, debuting to critical and commercial success. "Viva la Vida" reached the top spot of the UK Singles Chart and Billboard Hot 100, becoming the band's first number-one single and a Transatlantic number-one. The song won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year at the 51st Grammy Awards in 2009. The song became the sixth song in digital history to reach the 4 million mark in paid downloads Song Information The lyrics to "Viva la Vida" contain many religious references. For example, "pillars of sand" is a clear reference to the Biblical parable given by Jesus about the fool who built his house on sand, and the wise man who built it on solid rock. "I know Saint Peter won't call my name" refers to Matthew 16:19 where Jesus tells Peter that he will give him the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven and the belief that the apostle stands at the Gates of Heaven, permitting or denying admission. Other likely (but ambiguous) Biblical references are "Seas would rise when I gave the word" (Moses parting the Red Sea), and "... my head upon a silver plate" (the beheading of St. John the Baptist: Salome asked to have his head delivered to her upon a platter). The song has inspired a great deal of debate about its meaning. People have claimed that the song may be about various subjects, such as the French Revolution. The band members themselves do not appear to have corroborated any of these claims, and have referred only to kings and revolutionaries in general, rather than any particular king. Martin has explained the song lyric "I know Saint Peter won't call my name" in an interview with Q magazine: "It's about ... You're not on the list. I was a naughty boy. It's always fascinated me that idea of finishing your life and then being analyzed on it. And this idea runs throughout most religions. That's why people blow up buildings. Because they think they're going to get lots of virgins. I always feel like saying, just join a band ... That is the most frightening thing you could possibly say to somebody. Eternal damnation. I know about this stuff because I studied it. I was into it all. I know it. It's still mildly terrifying to me. And this is serious." When asked about the song, bass guitarist Guy Berryman said: "It's a story about a king who's lost his kingdom, and all the album's artwork is based on the idea of revolutionaries and guerrillas. There's this slightly anti-authoritarian viewpoint that's crept into some of the lyrics and it's some of the pay-off between being surrounded by governments on one side, but also we're human beings with emotions and we're all going to die and the stupidity of what we have to put up with every day. Hence the album title." Unlike the typical arrangement of Coldplay songs, in which either the piano or guitar is the prominent instrument, the track mostly consists of a string section playing the song's upbeat riff, along with a steady bass drum beat, percussion (including a timpani and a church bell), bass guitar, and Martin's vocals; there is limited use of electric guitar in the song. All the strings are arranged and performed by violinist Davide Rossi, who is also one of the main collaborators of the album. Rossi's strings comprise the main driving force throughout the song, with a strong beginning loop that supports Martin's voice, until the choruses where the symphonic power of the orchestra takes its fullest shape. The song is played in the key of Ab Major at a tempo of 137bpm, while the vocal range is Eb4-Ab5. Although Coldplay are widely labeled as an "alternative rock" band, the classical composition and historical subject matter of "Viva la Vida" have led to the song being labeled as "baroque pop" and "chamber pop". Section heading Write the second section of your article here.